Strandz has finally arrived on the Official Charts, and he's not wasting this moment. The ascendant South London rapper - who was born in Germany, before relocating to Nigeria and then finally making his way over to London - has recently burnt a trail up the Official Singles Chart with Us Against The World, a love track indebted to the 90s East Coast rap he grew up on almost as much as it is to his girlfriend. "I love the classics, like Jay Z and 50 [Cent]," he says to us on a call from his flat, looking remarkably calm and composed as his music career is blowing up around him. "But I listen to a lot of R&B as well.
I love Rihanna. I love Destiny's Child." And you can definitely hear that influence on Us Against The World, whose bare production seeks to hone in on Strandz's bars and musicality as much as it does the swooning Smokey Robinson sample built around it.
Now joined by Digga D on an ascendant new remix, Us Against The World has quickly become Strandz's Top 40 debut on the Official Singles Chart, and it just might crack the Top 20 this week too.
In a wide-ranging chat, we discussed his plans for world domination, how his journeys as a young child centred him and how he wants to influence the next generation with positivty and love.
Read more on officialcharts.com